Trolley for carrying bales of cotton.



PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907.

-J. R. PORDYGE. TBOLLBY FOR CARRYING BALES 0F COTTON.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 21. 1906.

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JOHN R. FORDYOE, OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

TROLLEY FOR CARRYING- BALES OF COTTON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

Application filed November 21. 1906. Serial No. 344,443.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN R. FoRDYoE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Little Rock, Arkansas, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Trolleys for Carrying Bales of Cotton, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, in which Figure 1 is a view in side elevationshowing trolleys constructed in accordance with my invention inoperative position on a track; Fig. 2 is a view in end elevation of oneof the trolleys shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail viewof the lifting means with which the trolley is provided.

This invention relates to devices for handling bales of cotton.

The object of my invention is to provide a trolley or conveyer adaptedto run on a track and having means for raising a bale of cotton from aplatform or floor and holding it elevated.

Referring to the drawings which represent the preferred form of myinvention, 1 designates the frame of the conveyer or trolley which issubstantially U-shape, as shown in Fig. 2. signed to run on a track 2 ofinverted T form and'accordingly, is provided with two flanged wheels orrollers 3 that travel on the horizontally disposed flanges ofthe track,said wheels being mounted on shafts that are carried by the upwardlyprojecting arms of the U-shaped frame 1. The portion of the frame 1which connects the two upwardly projecting arms thereof is locatedbeneath the track on which the conveyer travels and is provided with aneye or opening'for receiving a hook 4 on the closed endof a yoke-shapedmember 5, shown clearly in Fig. 2.

A shaft 6 is journaled in the downwardly extending side-pieces of theyoke 5 and rigidly connected to said shaft between the side-pieces ofthe yoke are two arms 7 provided at their outer ends with a cross-pin 8on which a link 9 is mounted. A lever or handle 10 is secured to theouter end of the shaft 6 and projects therefrom in the oppositedirection to the arms 7, said lever being bent laterally and thendownwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, so as not to come in contact with thebale of cotton which the trolley carries. The link 9 is provided at itslower end with a hook 11 on which the chain 12 connecting the cottonhooks 13 can be placed when said link is in its lowered position, shownat the left of Fig. 1, the operating lever 10 at such times projectingupwardly. To raise the bale 14 from the floor or platform 15 the lever10 is pulled downwardly in the direction The trolley herein shown isde-' indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, thereby causing the shaft 6 torotate and thus move the arms '7 into their upwardly projecting positionshown in Fig. 3. As the I link 9 is connected to the outer ends of saidarms it will,

of course, be elevated and thereby raise the bale of cotton from theplatform into the position shown in Fig. 2. The lower end of the link 9is offset at 16, as shown in Fig. 3, to permit the upper ends of thearms 7 to move forwardly far enough to carry the cross-pin 8 on whichthe link is mounted, beyond the vertical plane in which the shaft liesand as said link is longer than the arms 7 the lower portion of saidlink will bear against the shaft 6 and thus retain the arms 7 in theirelevated position so as to hold the bale suspended above the platform.

Any suitable means may be employed for propelling the trolley and ifdesired several trolleys constituting trailers can be coupled to a motorM by a bar 17, as shown in Fig. 1, said motor also being provided withmechanism of the construction previously described for raising a baleand holding it elevated.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided atrolley or conveyer having a lifting device of very simple constructionand capable of being operated quickly and with the expenditure of verylittle energy.

The track herein shown also forms one of the novel features of myinvention as it can be constructed cheaply from two angles placedtogether to form an inverted T and suspended from a support or arm 2 bymeans of a strap or bar of iron 2 interposed between the vertical legsof the angles.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A trolley or com'eyer consisting of a frame provided with rollersthat are adapted to travel on a track, a shaft supported by said frameand provided with an arm to which the article that is to be carried isconnected, a supporting link of greater length than said arm andpivotally connected to the outer end of said arm, and a lever fastenedto said shaft to turn it for moving the arm into an elevated position,said link being provided at its lower end with an offset to receive theshaft so that when the arm is in its elevated position the upper end ofthe link will be located beyond the vertical plane in which the shaftlies; substantially as described.

2. A trolley or conveyer consisting of a frame provided with wheels, :1yokeshaped member depending from said frame and having a shaft journaledin the lower ends of its side pieces, a plurality of arms rigidlyconnected to said shaft between said side pieces, a supporting linkmounted on a cross-pin extending through the outer ends of said arms,said link being longer than said arms and ollset adjacent its lower endto receive the shaft so that when the arms are in their 0lG"1t0(lposition the crosspins in the upper end of the link will be located toone side of the vertical plane in which the shaft lies, and a leverconnected to said shaft for turning it to move said I arn:s into anelevated position substantially as described.

A trolley or conveyor consisting of a U-shaped frame having rollersjournaled in the upwardly projecting arms thereof, the cross-piece ofsaid frame being located he heath the track on which the rollers of thetrolley travel, a yoke-shaped member provided at its closed end with ahook that is adapted to engage the cross-piece of said frame, a shaftjournaled on said yokeshaped member and 10 provided with an arm to whichthe article that is to be carried is fastened, and a device for turningsaid shaft to move said arm into an elevated position; substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo Witnesses, this 30 day of October 15 JOHN R. FORDYCE.

Witnesses COLUMBUS BIERCE, A. .G. CRAWFORD.

